Metric, the band not the measurement system, formed in Canada in 1999 (the system in France, 1791) and consists of Emily Haines (vocals, synthesizer and guitar), James Shaw (guitars), Josh Winstead (bass) and Joules Scott-Key (drums, no relation to Francis). Emily and James also play with Wednesday-music.com favorite Broken Social Scene. In fact, she met Kevin Drew (BSS) and Amy Millan (Stars and BSS) in high school.
Soon after graduating, Emily moved to Canada, became acquainted with James, and the two eventually re-located to Brooklyn. While there, they roomed with future members of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars and TV On The Radio. According to James, "although this sounded like an amazing place to live, often the roommates were simply struggling to eat."
This article appears in Feb 17-23, 2010.